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COMMUNITY POLICING SEMINAR REPORT

“RECLAIMING OUR SPACE FROM CRIMINALS THROUGH COMMUNITY POLICING”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 2

2. SEMINAR PROGRAMME BREAKDOWN .................................................................................................... 3

2.1. DAY ONE: MRS. KHALADI MBONGWE AND MR. MBUSO SHOBEDE ...................................................................... 3

2.2. DAY TWO: MRS. DORAH SIBANDE AND CONSTABLE NGOBESE ............................................................................ 4

3. OVERVIEW OF KEY ISSUES THAT WERE ARTICULATED BY SPEAKERS AND DELIGATES.............................. 6

3.1. SETTING THE TONE BY THE MEC FOR TRANSPORT, COMMUNITY SAFETY AND LIAISON – MR. T.W. MCHUNU ............. 6

3.2. PERSPECTIVE FROM SAPS: LT GENERAL NGOBENI............................................................................................ 7

3.3. COMMUNITY POLICING PERSPECTIVE FROM KZN PROVINCIAL COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD: MR. MTAMBO ............... 7

3.4. MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM THE NATIONAL COMMUNITY POLICE BOARD: MR. MASHAILE ..................................... 8

3.5. MESSAGE OF SUPPORT FROM THE KZNCCPA: MR. ZUMA ................................................................................. 8

3.6. PRESENTATIONS THAT WERE GIVEN FOR FURTHER DELIBERATIONS ........................................................................ 8

4. COMMISSIONS AND RESOLUTIONS ....................................................................................................... 10

4.1. RESOLUTIONS: ......................................................................................................................................... 10

5. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 14

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1. INTRODUCTION

The KZN Provincial Community Police Board in partnership with the Department of

Community Safety and Liaison and the South African Police Service hosted a Provincial

Community Policing Seminar on the 29th to the 30th of August 2014.

The purpose of the seminar was to create a platform for the community safety structures to

engage vigorously on the issues that affected their livelihood and functioning. It further

enabled interactions between the experts, practitioners, community safety structures and

other relevant stakeholders to broaden their understanding of community policing, merge

practice and theory in order to implement impact driven programmes and projects

It was envisioned that the results of the deliberations will give resolutions which will form the

basis for the development of a Community Policing Strategy. The Community Policing

Strategy is going to be part of the Provincial Safety strategy.

This seminar was attended by the representatives from National Secretariat, National

Community Police Board, SAPS (nationally and provincially), Safer-Cities, Cluster CPFs,

KZNCC, Departmental officials and academic experts within the field. The total number of

participants for the seminar was 340.

Since the time was limited during the seminar, the resolutions were not finalised but a

committee which include the Department, Board, SAPS and Safer-Cities was established in

order to finalise the resolutions within one week from the seminar. The resolutions were

going to be taken from all the discussions and resolutions that came out from commission

interactions. Once the resolutions have been finalised they will be published through the

Department and SAPS websites. Further to that, the Board will be facilitating a capacity

building roll-out session to all the clusters in the province (from mid of September 2014)

where these resolutions will be shared for further clarity.

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2. SEMINAR PROGRAMME BREAKDOWN

2.1. Day one: Mrs. Khaladi Mbongwe and Mr. Mbuso Shobede

Time Activity Responsible Person

08h00 -10h00 Arrival of stakeholders and

registration

Registration Team

National Anthem

10h00 Official Opening of the Seminar Programme Directors

10h10 Welcoming Address Mr. E. Ramsamy – Acting Head

of Department

Acknowledgement of Guest Mr. R.L. Goniwe – Senior

Manager Provincial Police

Oversight and Partnerships

10h20 Setting the tone Mr. T.W. Mchunu – MEC for

Transport, Community Safety

and Liaison

11h20 Perspective from the SAPS Lt. General B.M. Ngobeni –

Provincial Commissioner of

SAPS KZN

11h50 Perspective from the KZN

Community Police Board

Mr. B.D. Mtambo – Provincial

Chairperson of KZN Community

Police Board

12h15 Message of support from the

National Community Police

Board

Mr. A. Mashaile – PRO of the

National Community Police

Board

12h40 Message of support from the

KZNCCPA

Mr. T. Zuma – Provincial

Chairperson of KZN Community

Crime Prevention Association

LUNCH

14h00 National Development Plan

Provision on Safety

Mr. R. Chetty – Researcher

from Department of Community

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Safety and Liaison

14h20 Strengthening community

Safety partnerships

Mr. S. Maila – Police Oversight

Expert from Solomon Maila and

Associates

15h00 Creating opportunities through

fighting crime – Lessons from

the National Community Police

Board

Mr. V. Tlou – Member of

National Community Police

Board

15h40 Sustainable Programmes –

lessons from other provinces

and countries

Mr. S. Xulu – Crime Prevention

and Conflict Resolution Expert

17h30 Closure

2.2. Day two: Mrs. Dorah Sibande and Constable Ngobese

Time Activity Responsible Person

09h00 Recap Programme Directors

09h35 National Perspective on

Community Policing

General K.J. Sitole – SAPS

Deputy National Commissioner -

Policing

11h00 Question and answer

12h00 -13h00 Commissions Commission one: The role of

community leadership in

addressing public protest. Public

protest usually ends in criminal

behaviour which could be

prevented. This includes

political killings. (Facilitators: Mr.

S. Maila)

Commission two: Strengthening

community safety partnerships –

the role and responsibility of

different stakeholders. (Mrs. K.

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Mbongwe)

Commission three: Improving

community policing through

community oversight and

intelligence. This means

proactive measures should be in

place to assess and use

community intelligence to divert/

mitigate probable conflict from

being destructive. (Mr. I.

Nxumalo)

Commission four: The role of

community safety structures in

preventing police killings.

(Advocate Ngceza)

Commission five: How to use

crime prevention through

environmental design strategies

to prevent possible crime

scenarios. (Ms. N. Shembe)

13h00 – 13h30 LUNCH

13h30 Presentation from Commissions

14h30 Vote of thanks Mr. B.D. Mtambo – Provincial

Chairperson of KZN Community

Police Board

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3. OVERVIEW OF KEY ISSUES THAT WERE ARTICULATED BY

SPEAKERS AND DELIGATES

3.1. Setting the tone by the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and

Liaison – Mr. T.W. Mchunu

The MEC highlighted the following in his address:

He applauded the Community Police Board for this initiative because it aimed to

strengthen community policing as a concept and CPFs as a structure;

He mentioned that as a country we have good policies which inform the existence

and functioning of the CPFs but there are numerous challenges in the

implementation of these policies;

This is because the structures lack the capacity and he stressed that it is unfair to

give structures good policies but leave them to fend for themselves;

He applauded the presence of academics because they will assist the Department in

evaluating the strategies that have been adopted like the policy of CCPA’s which

created a platform for the Department to strengthen the fight against crime by

inducting these structures with legal framework to improve their functioning for a just

cause;

He stressed that the seminar must look and evaluate the relationship between the

CPFs and other community safety structures. He expressed a view that since the

CPF is a forum and the CCPA an association within the same community – will there

be a problem if the association broaden the representation of the CPFs by affiliating

in them (this question needed to be debated and resolve);

He raised the issue of community boundaries in the fight against crime. This led to

the question which he posed to the delegates of whether its ok for all the other

government activities to be aligned to municipality and ward boundaries but the

police precinct use different boundaries;

He explained the in detailed the Holistic framework which the Department is

facilitating in pursuance for an integrated approach to crime fighting;

He stressed the importance of community safety structures to serve in WAR

ROOMS;

He tasked the seminar to find ways and define roles of different stakeholders when it

comes to addressing public protest;

He raised concern about the increase in police killings and asked the question of

“who protect the protectors?”

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He applauded the presence of national delegates and the fact that their presence will

help guide us a s a province if we are addressing something that is particular to our

province or that is common in our country and therefore should be addressed

together with national;

He pleaded with the community structures present to facilitate a campaign that will

empower community to stop worshiping criminals and crime;

He thanked the police for protecting the citizens because they arrested 270 000

criminals per year but warned the community that they produce these criminals;

He wished the delegates productive engagements for proper resolutions.

3.2. Perspective from SAPS: LT General Ngobeni

The PC applauded the commitment by the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and

Liaison. She further informed the delegates that KZN were pioneers in that even the Minister

of Police – Mr. Nhleko, noted with appreciation the KZN programme of “Building a United

Front Against Crime”, in such that he encourage other provinces to learn from our province

(this was during his budget speech).

The PC further shared the following:

Gave an overview and crime trends of 21 priority crimes;

Presented an overview of crime for past five years;

Reflected on factors influencing the stability of the province;

Recommended the route of integrated, joint identification and joint problem solving by

all role-players; and

Encourage that the seminar really look on measures that will strengthen collective

action against criminal elements.

3.3. Community Policing Perspective from KZN Provincial Community

Police Board: Mr. Mtambo

The provincial chairperson shared the following:

He applauded the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison for affording

the structures such a platform to engage on such crucial issues;

He highlighted the NDP which articulates clear that having a safe environment is a

precondition for an economically sound country.

The NDP states the “when people feel unsafe it make it harder for them to develop

their capabilities, pursue their personal goals and to take part in social and economic

activities.”

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South Africans needs to feel safe everywhere and have faith in the Criminal Justice

System to protect them and act swiftly and effectively when required to do so;

He asked a question of whether we are dealing with the root cause of crime, social

ills and moral fibre like unemployment etc.;

He shared a couple of cases (recent) that depicted the brutality and violent nature of

the crime in our country;

He stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships and mobilising

communities in order to deal with the scourge of crime;

He encouraged the delegates to seek for answers vigorously during their

commissions so that we can really deal with crime but not fiddle with it.

3.4. Message of support from the National Community Police Board: Mr.

Mashaile

Mr. Mashaile explained the distinct levels of CPF from local to national. He elaborated on

four points which were:

Integrated approach towards crime fighting;

Real life experience on crime fighting,

The role of CPF in Sector policing; and

The intensification of communication about the good practice on community safety

and crime prevention.

In his closing remarks he applauded the Board and the province for such a great initiatives.

He hoped that in future when he is invited, he will be addressing the masses and be part of

finding solutions for real problems.

3.5. Message of support from the KZNCCPA: Mr. Zuma

He explained the rational for the formation of voluntary crime prevention

associations; and

He emphasized the importance of integration within community crime prevention

structures and between structures and police.

3.6. Presentations that were given for further deliberations

The following presentations were given by researchers, experts and practitioners:

1. National Development Plan Provision on Safety – Mr. Chetty (CHETTY 2_NDP.pptx);

2. Strengthening Community Safety Partnerships – Mr. Maila (Strengthening community

safety partnerships August 29, 2014 Version 2.pptx);

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3. Creating opportunities through fighting crime – Lessons from the National Community

Police Board – Mr. Tlou (KZN COMMUNUTY POLICING SEMINAR NW.pptx);

4. Sustainable Programmes – lessons from other provinces and countries – Mr. Xulu

(Sustainable Programmes CPF Seminar.pptx); and

5. National Perspective on Community Policing – General Sithole (COMMUNITY

POLICY SEMINAR KZN GEN SITOLE.pptx).

These presentations are attached for more details. The presentations created a platform for

delegates to pose questions to the members before they went to commissions. Some of the

questions that were posed and responded too were the following:

The issue of stipends for community safety structures. This question was asked in

relation to the VSCPP volunteers that are already receiving a stipend.

The fact that partnership at station level between the police and the community

safety structures is none existent.

The issues relating to the understanding and proper implementation of crime

prevention legislation by different stakeholders.

The issue that the police lack the proper understanding of community policing.

The role of municipality in community safety and crime prevention.

The lack of trust between the police and the community. It is perceived that some

police members’ partner with criminals instead of the community.

The challenges of integration of community safety and crime prevention initiatives at

grass-root level.

The panel which was represented by the Provincial Commissioner and all the presenters

responded to these questions to the best of their ability. It was noted that because of the

time factor that the Community Police Board must facilitate these sessions in their clusters

and incorporate all other functional community safety structures in order to address these

issues. Further to that, it was alluded that once the resolutions of the seminar have been

finalised, they will be available to all the stakeholders to interrogate.

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4. COMMISSIONS AND RESOLUTIONS

The commissions took about an hour and half. The groups were given an opportunity to

present their problem statement in relation to the commission and the resolution thereof. The

delegation was informed that since the seminar did not have an opportunity to fine tune the

resolutions from the commissions, a task team which was to include the Department, Board,

Police, Safer-Cities was to meet to look at the resolutions and write then in a manner that

they responded to the pertinent issues raised within the commission. Each commission was

tasked to make available their discussion notes so that the task team will work on them. The

delegation was made aware that the final resolutions will not replace the resolutions from

commissions but rather present them in a format that will clearly articulate the seminar

discussions.

4.1. Resolutions:

1. The seminar noted the increase and violent nature in public protest in KZN which results

in criminal behavior (destruction of the property and social cohesion); it further noted that the

reason and key drivers behind these protest are complex, at time having to do with the

issues of service delivery but also at times they are political in nature and content. The

seminar further examined the role of community safety structures such as CPFs and other

crime prevention associations in ensuring that these protest are held peacefully and within

the law (Section 17 of the Constitution, Gatherings Act).

Noting the above premise, the seminar resolved the following:

CPFs must be broadly representative of the communities they serve;

The relationship between CPFs, other community safety structures, traditional

authority, and local government (councillors) should be strengthened in order to deal

with public protest;

The Community Police Board in partnership with DCSL and SAPS should develop a

mechanism for the accurate recording of public gatherings and demonstrations in

order to direct future interventions;

The DCSL in partnership with COGTA should workshop the different stakeholders

(community leaders) on their roles and responsibilities with respect to public

gatherings and demonstrations;

The police capacity to gather intelligence on public gatherings and demonstrations

should be improved by police management (intelligent management for proactive

intervention);

Public gatherings should be a standing agenda item on the CPF meetings;

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CPFs in partnership with other community safety structures should convene

community educational campaigns in order to sensitise the community of the

legislative framework, different roles of the various government departments and

entities with regard to public gathering;

The Multi-Party Committee should convene community dialogue sessions in priority

areas where political conflict are envisioned;

In the event that there is a public protest brewing or manifesting, the CPF in

partnership with other community safety structures, SAPS and local councillors

should facilitate information and mediating dialogue session in order to curb the

gathering from being destructive;

Crime fighting organisations need to partner with the police to look for initiatives to

deal with the eruption of violence during mass protest;

Explore measures to make communities to be custodian of law. Make them to

appreciate that rights goes with obligations and limitations;

Municipal councillors must be educated on the role of CPFs;

CPFs must strengthen their respective Community Police Sub-Forums in order to

improve their community information management; and

Care should be taken that the leaders of the public protest are made to undertake

responsibility of ensuring that these protest are conducted peacefully and within the

parameters of the law. Should they fail to do so clear punitive measures should be

explained to them.

2. The seminar noted that there are several organizations and structures involved in

initiatives to mobilize communities to fight against crime. However, these initiatives are not

coordinated and therefore are less effective in improving community safety. Further, on the

seminar debated the measures that could be taken to strengthen these initiatives and

partnerships so that they have more desired impact for the community. The seminar

resolved the following:

There should be a broader alignment of all the effort directed at fighting crime and

there also should be a platform for all community safety structures to be able to share

information and create synergies on all initiatives and efforts to achieve a noble

objective of a crime free KZN. The seminar noted that such partnership and

cooperation has a potential to enhance the effectiveness of these initiatives, thereby

avoiding duplication.

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CPFs must be broadly representative of the communities they serve which means

the incorporation of other community safety structures, government entities and

community structures;

The Community Police Board should advocate for the reviewal of the housing CPF

with the Department;

The participants resolved in the unity of action against crime therefore the integration

of all crime fighting structures under one umbrella body within the province of KZN

should be promoted.

3. The seminar noted that there was a lack of the flow of credible intelligence from

communities to police/crime fighting structures. This was largely, the seminar noted,

because of suspicions largely brought about by the legacy of apartheid which tendered to

create few suspicions between the community and the police. Further on, the seminar noted

that the lack of this free flow of information resulted in police/ community fighting structures

being unable to take proactive measures against crime. In order to address this challenge,

the seminar resolved as following:

Intensive effort should be embarked upon to build trust between the community and

the police;

In situation where there is lack of trust in the service, the community must be

encouraged to liaise with the Department in relation to the community information.

The community must NOT keep quite just because they do not trust the recipient of

the information.

Encourage and promote community information networks through community safety

structures (CSS);

Building and strengthening of community safety structures so that they understand

their role as community information agents;

The DCSL must have a capacity building plan for the CSS which will deal with the

issues of Code of Conduct, Patriotism, Roles and responsibilities;

The seminar defined community oversights as the role which is played by the CSS

(more so the CPFs) over the effective functioning of the service (how they can

promote the service in order to improve its relationship and functioning). Community

intelligence is defined as the coordination of community information networks.

Intelligence information is confirmed as such after it has been processed but it

doesn’t mean that community information must not be utilized;

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The community safety structures (CPFs) must mobilize communities to play oversight

role over the service in order to improve its functioning and promote information

sharing by the community.

4. The seminar noted with concerns the increasing trend of the attack on police in KZN. This

has had a tendency on impacting negatively on the morale of the police, who see these

attacks as representing a rejection by the community they are trying to protect. In the light of

this disturbing development, the seminar resolved the following:

The Community Police Board in partnership with DCSL resolved to launch a high

profile (one million signatures and voices against police killings) campaign to

encourage communities to appreciate, work and partner with the police;

Embark on societal education to appreciate the role of police;

To work intensively with the police and communities to eliminate the historical

suspicions that communities have over the police;

To lobby the Department of Police to consider launching a massive campaign aimed

at improving the image and presenting the police as the agent of change for the

democratic South Africa;

Engage the police management with the view of exploring innovative safety

measures to protect police members while on duty;

Launch a deliberate campaign which will highlight a positive role of police in

particular where they have made heroic attempts in serving the community i.e. KZN

Community Hero’s Awards;

To highlight to communities the importance of the role of police in ensuring safety

environment in KZN which is critical for the development and progress of the

province.

5. The seminar noted that the apartheid spatial planning which allocated security, resources

unevenly, has left the majority of people of South Africa exposed to crime and criminality.

This apartheid spatial planning was reflected in the environmental design which made the

majority of South Africans to be vulnerable to crime. The seminar resolved the following:

In future developments, security issues should be placed at a centre stage;

CPF and other community safety structures should participate, engage and influence

decisions at IDP forums;

Advocate for the implementation of infrastructure to address related challenges in

rural and urban areas;

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Advocate for the use of technology (CCTV, social networks) to address the current

spatial factors;

The Community Police Board should lobby for the reviewal of police station

boundaries to be in line with municipal and ward boundaries in order to optimize

service delivery.

5. CONCLUSION

The seminar was a great success which yielded great resolutions. The resolutions will be

utilized to form a Community Policing Strategy and it will be evaluated against national

directives and prescripts. Some of the programmes from the resolutions will be implemented

during the safety month.